Purge the passive - active and passive voice of verbs

Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, a writer needs to keep his or her language active. Passive language is less direct and has less impact. Consistent use of passive language slows the pace and may cause readers to lose interest.  There are a number of ways a writer's language can become passive. One common way is the frequent use of the passive voice of the verb.

An action verb is in the active voice when the subject is doing the action and in the passive voice when the subject is receiving the action.

Active:    The wide receiver caught the ball in the end zone. [The subject - wide receiver - is doing the action of catching.]


Passive:  The ball was caught in the end zone by the wide receiver. [The subject - ball - is not doing the action of catching.]


The passive voice is formed using some form of the verb be with the past participle of the verb.


By looking at the two examples above, you can see that the passive voice slows the pace because the passive sentence is longer. In addition, any change in the customary word order (where the subject is the performer of the action, is placed near the beginning of the sentence, and is followed by the verb) causes the reader to slow his or her pace of reading.


While using the active voice is preferable, there are two instances when the use of the passive voice is necessary.

• The passive voice can be used when the person who performed the action is unknown.

The walls of the room had been painted a pale green. [The painter is unknown.]

• The passive voice can be used when the writer wants to emphasize the receiver of the action. In a sentence, the subject of the sentence is accorded more attention or importance than the direct object. Thus, making the receiver of the action (normally the direct object) the subject of the sentence gives the receiver more emphasis.

The doctor gave all the children a flu shot. [The emphasis is on the doctor.]

All the children were given a flu shot by the doctor. [The emphasis is on the children.]

Note: When the verb is in the passive voice, the person who does the action (normally the subject) is often indicated in a prepositional phrase beginning with by.

In Brief: Use active language in your writing. Avoid using the passive voice of verbs.